


let us be always, always (through the highs and the lows, we'll be always)

by Dinosaur1212



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Christmas gift for toast cans, F/F, Fairly angst free, Fluff, Follows season 2 a lil bit but with differences, I hope you like this toast cans, I really don't think there's any angst?, Jethan rights, M/M, One Shot, Posie is mostly background, Toastcansmas gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21951097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinosaur1212/pseuds/Dinosaur1212
Summary: Thinking about what Ethan had sent, Jed must have been taking too long to answer, because Ethan sent another text suggesting they go get coffee or something like that on Friday, and Jed happily accepted the offer.orThe one-shot that chronicles how Jed and Ethan meet
Relationships: Ethan Machado & Jed, Jed/Ethan Machado, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Kudos: 11





	let us be always, always (through the highs and the lows, we'll be always)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I'm here with a very long one-shot that is a gift for the toast cans twitter groupchat!! I promised them I would write a Jethan fic, so here it is! I don't know if it's what anyone thought it would be, because it definitely changed a lot during the writing process, so yeah. I hope you guys enjoy all 10.5k words!
> 
> The title is based off the song "Always" by Isak Danielson

Growing up, Jed has always been faced with questions about whether or not he liked any girls, had a girlfriend, or anything along the lines of having feelings for a girl. Naturally, because of this, he always assumed he should fall in love with a girl. He didn’t really ever understand why he found himself becoming overly invested in his best friend; he always played it off like he was just being a worried friend. Then he triggered his werewolf gene and was sent to the Salvatore School, so he was sent away from everyone he had known, including his friend.

When he first arrived at the Salvatore School, he really didn’t know anything about being a werewolf, but fortunately someone at the school helped explain everything to him; he was better able to understand the workings of the supernatural world because of her. Over time, people made comments about how cute of a couple they would be, but Jed really wasn’t interested. He only viewed the girl as a friend and he could never see them becoming anything more than that. Not knowing what to do about the situation, he turned to the one friend he knew he could count on, Penelope Park.

It took him a while to actually get Penelope alone to talk to her, because she was always with Josie, but he did, and he told Penelope how he felt, or rather, how he didn’t feel. She asked him if he had ever liked any girls, and after thinking, Jed revealed that he hadn’t ever crushed on any girls. This caused Penelope to obviously change a single word in her question, causing her to ask if he had ever liked another guy. Jed was thrown off by the question because no one had ever asked him that question before and he had never considered it a possibility. Sure, he agreed that people should be able to love whoever they wanted to, but his family wasn’t accepting. So he never gave it a thought that he could potentially be gay, but Penelope asking him about it made him realize that maybe he did like guys, but there was something more to it. As much as Jed knew he liked guys, he never thought about having sex. It just wasn’t something that interested him, and he doubted it ever would. And now that this family had basically disowned him, he was free to embrace who he truly was, even if it would take a while.

So Penelope talked to him about it for about an hour, reassured him that everything would be fine, that he was still the same annoying werewolf he always was. Their hanging out only ended when Penelope ran off to go hang out with Josie, but not before making sure Jed was alright. He of course reassured her that he was, and she went on her way. And Jed went on with his life, not really ever vocalizing his sexuality; as much as he wanted to be open about it, he just couldn’t come to say it to anyone but Penelope, and eventually Josie when he hung out with them one day. With them, it was just so easy to say it, because they were hopelessly in love, and their love showed Jed that it was okay to be who you were, but he still never told anyone else.

Regardless, time went on, Jed became alpha of the pack and accepted all the responsibilities that came with it. He consoled Penelope when she came to his room seeking a friendly face after she had broken up with Josie. At first she hadn’t said anything, and Jed wasn’t sure she would, but after she somehow managed to quit crying, she told him why she did it. She told him how she had learned about something called the Merge, and how she couldn’t watch Josie put everyone else’s needs before her own; so she did the only thing she could think of, she ended things in the hope that Josie would become her own person and they might find each way back to one another. Of course, Penelope swore Jed to secrecy and he promised not to say a word about it, because he did not want to be on Penelope’s bad side. The two became closer friends after this as they both knew each other’s secrets. In fact, Jed would almost say his increase in hanging out with Penelope is what cost him his role as alpha.

Of course more played into it than just him hanging out with Penelope. He had let his anger get in the way with Rafael, and then when he lost his role as alpha, he took it out on Landon. He ran away for a brief time after this, regretting what he had done, and of course it was Penelope that had found him and convinced him to come back to the school. So of course he did, and he returned as just a member of the pack, doing what he needed to make sure the pack would thrive. Even if this meant talking to Raf, who he still held resentment towards. He was certain he would always resent that Raf was the alpha, especially since Raf couldn’t seem to keep his emotions under control. Jed told Penelope all of this, and in turn, she told him that he should bring it up with Raf, which he did. 

Then there was a huge string of events that left Jed in a strange headspace. It started with the day Penelope told him that she would probably be leaving for Belgium unless Josie gave her a reason to stay. He was bummed to hear about this, but he understood why Penelope would want to go to an all witch school. But he also knew that it was a hard decision for her to leave, because he knew just how much she still loved Josie. There was a part of him that sensed their story wasn’t over, but he never voiced this thought to Penelope in fear of getting her hopes up for nothing. Before she left, they had a farewell dinner together, and then just like that, she was gone. He watched as Josie walked around in Penelope’s clothes for a while, and how she was sleeping in Penelope’s room. His heart honestly broke at how they both were so obviously still in love with one another, but yet, they were still separated. 

Next came the attack by Triad, which brought everyone together for what was probably the first time in forever. Everyone fought side-by-side and it brought a sense of unity amongst all the students as they successfully defended the school. But something weird happened that night, it was like a wave came over him, and when it happened, Jed was confused as to what he had been doing. It seemed everyone around him had felt the same feeling, because everyone looked at each other uncertainly. No one commented on it, however, and everyone moved on with their lives. Jed, on the other hand, felt like something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Jed spent the rest of the summer corresponding with Penelope, talking to her about what had happened the night of the Triad attack and everything that had happened since then. In turn, Penelope told him about her experiences in Belgium, and how she was researching the Merge any chance she had. Somehow, even with that fact, they managed to avoid the topic of Josie, who spent the entire summer working on moving away from her codependent nature. Towards the end of the summer, Penelope brought up Jed’s love life, and for once, he had something to say.

At some point over the summer, Mystic Falls hired a new sheriff, and when the new sheriff moved to town, she logically brought her two kids along with her. Jed had quite literally run into the girl when he had been out for a jog. He had been going around a corner and she had been standing right there. This naturally flowed into a conversation of incessant apologizing, but along the way, he managed to learn that the girl’s name was Maya. Just as Jed was about to continue his jog after making sure Maya was uninjured, a guy came out of the building and walked up to Maya, sending an uncertain glance in Jed’s direction. Maya introduced Jed to who he learned was her brother, Ethan. For a moment, Jed’s mind went completely blank when he saw Ethan, a feeling he wasn’t sure if he had ever felt before. There was just something about Ethan that Jed liked, and he thought about it as he bid his farewells to the siblings and jogged away. Thoughts of Ethan were frequently in Jed’s mind the rest of the summer as he saw Ethan from afar a few times after being introduced.

Jed told all of this to Penelope who broached the conversation of Jed potentially having feelings for this new kid. This was something Jed had thought about over the course of the summer and he felt as if—maybe—he was ready to accept that he might just be falling for another guy. He revealed all this to Penelope, who of course supported him wholeheartedly with whatever he decided to do. She made sure to add that she really hoped he tried to act on his feelings and ask Ethan out, because she told him that it was ridiculous how much detail he could give her about Ethan, and he had only talked to Ethan once. They spoke for over an hour about the whole situation, and the conversation ended with Jed promising he would try to ask Ethan out at some point during the school year.

This is what led Jed to approach Ethan before the annual flag football game started. He had the intentions of just coming off as really casual and seeing if Ethan maybe wanted to go for a run sometime, but what actually happened was far from what Jed intended. It started going downhill with the introduction, because the Mystic Falls students really didn’t like that someone from the Salvatore School was near their bench, but Ethan quickly got them to shut up, and walked away from the bench so Jed could talk to him. Things momentarily got better when they were by themselves, but when Ethan asked Jed what he needed, Jed couldn’t formulate a sentence. He stuttered out a garbled mess of words that earned a laugh out of Ethan. Jed could feel himself starting to blush at his awkwardness, and that’s when Ethan took control of the conversation, which Jed was thankful for because he was not getting far by doing all the talking. He was surprised when Ethan asked if they could go for coffee a day this week, to which Jed quickly agreed. He wasn’t sure if it was a date or not, but they exchanged numbers and promised to make some type of plan after the game.

That was the plan at least, until something happened towards the end of the game. Jed had noticed something was off with Josie the entire game; she had seemed angry the whole time, and then he had seen Josie talking to Vardemus who gave her a piece of paper. He watched as Josie read what was on the paper and returned to the field for the next play. The next thing he knew was Ethan was crumpling to the ground in pain and Josie was looking horrified. Jed knew in that instant that Josie had been the one to break Ethan’s arm, and it was all to blame on Professor Vardemus. There was nothing he could do about Vardemus, but he did know someone that might be able to get through to Josie. He made a mental note to call Penelope later, but as of right now he was filled with anger towards Josie and worry for Ethan. Distancing himself from everyone in order to prevent him from taking his anger out on someone, he stalked away from the field, back into the school where he could let his anger dissipate.

Jed finally managed to get his anger under control, and by this time it was starting to get dark out. Walking away from the building, he could hear the sounds of fighting, causing him to run to the source of it where he saw a brawl between the two schools breaking out. The first thing he saw was that Maya had Josie in a headlock, and as much as he didn’t want to, he ran over to help Josie. He also did it because Maya should be on her way to the hospital to be there for her brother, not at the Salvatore School participating in a brawl that was seeming to be becoming a yearly tradition. When he finally managed to pull Maya off of Josie, he wasn’t surprised to see that Maya turned around ready to fight whoever had disrupted her. She faltered when she saw it was Jed who had stopped her. 

Of course Jed saw this as an opportunity to start talking to Maya, and he tried to convince her that she might be better off going to the hospital than being a part of the fight. Maya retorted with the fact that the bus was the only way she was going to be able to get access to her car so she could drive to the hospital. Jed nodded as Maya said that, because it made sense that her bus was the only way for her to leave the school, so he asked if she possibly wanted to distance herself from the fight so they could talk. He was grateful when Maya agreed to, even if she was slightly apprehensive to.

When they were finally away from the fight Maya brought up how she had seen him talking to Ethan earlier. She told Jed how she had asked Ethan about it, but he had refused to tell her what they had talked about, so she was wondering if he would disclose what they had talked about before the game. However, before Jed could say anything, she continued by bringing up how she hoped they would be hanging out, because Ethan had talked about Jed a ridiculous amount of times of the summer, even though they had only talked once. When Maya finally finished talking, Jed explained to her how he had planned on asking Ethan to go for a run, but Ethan had asked him out for coffee instead. This piqued Maya’s interest and she was about to say something, but before she could, someone called out to her that everyone was getting on the bus before another fight broke out. She quickly said good-bye to Jed, who made sure to send his best wishes to Ethan even though he would text Ethan later. 

Everyone was slowly dispersing now; the Mystic Falls students to their bus, and the Salvatore students to the school. Jed, however, stayed where he was, thinking about everything that had happened. As he was thinking, Jed pulled out his phone and sent a text to Ethan, wishing him a speedy recovery and that if he needed to talk about anything, he would be there for him. After he sent it, Jed had the realization that maybe he was being too forward and was worrying about that when he heard the bus approaching. He also heard what he thought was Josie calling out for her dead, who, Jed knew, would be on the bus back to Mystic Falls. Uncertain as if he should approach Josie, he watched as the gates closed and Josie stood staring out after the bus. Still not certain it was the best idea, he walked over towards Josie, otherwise Penelope would kill him if he didn’t. As he got closer, he announced his presence, causing Josie to jump, and when she turned around, he could see that Josie’s nose was bleeding. When he asked Josie if she was okay, she brushed it off as not a big deal, and started to walk back towards the school. Jed let her get a few feet away before he brought up that he knew Josie was the one to break Ethan’s arm, a hint of anger in his voice, all of this causing Josie to stop in her tracks.

Jed didn’t know exactly why Josie had done what she did, but when he walked to where Josie was at and faced her, he could see remorse written all over her face. Naturally, he did what any good friends would do and wrapped his arms around Josie in a hug, who instantly melted into the hug. There was something dark happening to Josie, and Jed knew that whatever it was, he was going to be there for Josie and make sure she was okay. Sure, he was upset that she delayed his meet-up with Ethan, but Josie needed someone in her corner. As he hugged Josie, she started sobbing, and he just stood there hugging her, telling her everything was going to be alright. 

Eventually, Josie pulled away, wiping at her eyes and telling Jed how she didn’t know the spell would hurt Ethan as badly as it had. She explained that she had just wanted to win the game, and Vardemus gave her something to help that happen, but she didn’t know it was going to be a black magic spell. Jed listened as Josie concluded with that for a brief moment she actually had wanted to hurt Ethan, but as soon as she realized she had, she regretted it. In response, Jed told her that whatever was happening, they would get to the bottom of it together, and that perhaps, Vardemus was dangerous. When Josie smiled at him when he said he would help her figure this whole thing out, Jed had a sinking feeling that part of Josie’s problem was that she hadn’t had anyone looking out for her over the summer. He knew Dr. Saltzman wasn’t the best father, so he never really acknowledged his daughter, and then, Lizzie was in Europe all summer, so Josie was virtually alone. He would’ve been around, but he had been out on missions at Penelope’s request to find various ancient texts that he could send to her about the Merge. He felt awful about it in retrospect, but all he could do now was to be there for Josie. After a few more minutes of talking, they decided to head back to the school, with the promise of meeting up tomorrow at some point to talk.

The first thing Jed did the next morning was call Penelope to tell her everything that had happened yesterday, although he left out Josie doing dark magic, because after talking to Josie last night, he realized he couldn’t betray Josie’s trust like that; he would bring up talking to Penelope to her later in the day. Of course, Penelope was all excited that Jed had actually talked to Ethan, but was devastated to hear about his arm. Penelope talked a little bit about the research she had been doing, although she eventually had to go to class because her free period was ending, so the two friends said good-bye to one another, and Jed continued on with his day. 

When he hung up the call with Penelope, he saw that he had a text back from Ethan, and he could feel his heartbeat pick up at the notification. Opening the message, he was surprised to see that Ethan still wanted to get together a day this week. Jed sent back a message asking Ethan if he was sure about that, and quickly received a response. Ethan joked around and said it wasn’t like he had a serious surgery, that they just repaired and casted his arm. Thinking about what Ethan had sent, Jed must have been taking too long to answer, because Ethan sent another text suggesting they go get coffee or something like that on Friday, and Jed happily accepted the offer.

The next few days passed by slowly. Jed hung out with Josie most days, and he opened up to Josie about his feelings for Ethan. Doing so caused Josie to apologize numerous times, because she hadn’t known and he had probably been angry with her, and there she was crying in his arms that night. Jed reassured Josie that it was all good, and that while he had been mad, she was working through problems of her own. It took a lot of convincing, but Josie finally semi-believed him enough that she quit apologizing. The rest of their time spent together was trying to figure out who Vardemus was and what he could gain by getting Josie to do dark magic, but they couldn’t find any leads. Jed had brought up talking to Penelope about everything, because she might know someone or something that could help, but Josie had quickly shut him down on that matter. So they were left with one another, but when Friday rolled around, things got hectic for both of them.

Jed was a nervous wreck all of Friday as he thought about meeting Ethan later that day. Sure, the two had been texting throughout the week to get to know each other a little bit more and to finalize plans, but Jed was nervous nonetheless. He went to ask Josie for some form of comforting words, but she had her hands tied up handling a samurai, so she wasn’t much help, especially when she left for Mystic Falls High School. Realizing he was on his own, he went to his room after classes were done to prepare for his rendezvous with Ethan.

They had come upon the agreement to meet at the Grill in town for dinner, and then they would hang out for a little bit afterwards. Jed had arrived first and was sending a text to Josie when he heard Ethan say his name. Looking up, Jed smiled at Ethan and returned the greeting as the two walked into the restaurant. As they waited to get seated, Jed asked Ethan how his arm was feeling, and Ethan told him that it hurt like a bitch, but at least it was healing. His comment earned a small smile out of Jed who went to say something, but was interrupted by the hostess telling them a table had opened up for them. After the hostess seated them, the two settled into a comfortable silence as they looked over the menu, eventually ordering their food. It wasn’t until they ordered their food that conversation really began between the two. Ethan told Jed how Maya had told him about the fight and how he had convinced Maya to quit fighting, which Ethan was thankful for as he would always be protective over his twin sister. Jed’s response was that he didn’t want to see Maya or Josie get hurt, and the fact that he wanted to talk to Maya about him. Ethan raised an eyebrow at that, causing Jed to hastily add out of nervousness that he wanted Maya to send along his best wishes for a speedy recovery. After this, Jed took a drink of his water so that he wouldn’t start rambling again, and was thankful when Ethan started replying to him. 

Ethan didn’t want to beat around the bush about why he had wanted to hang out with Jed, and Jed was surprised by what Ethan said. Ethan anxiously explained to Jed that he had wanted to hang out with him, because he had a crush on him as while as it sounded, considering they had really only talked once before they discussed meeting up. Once he got that part out, Ethan just kept talking for fear that Jed would reject him, but instead, Jed placed his hand on top of Ethan’s hand, which thankfully got Ethan to slowly trail off with what he had been saying. When Ethan finally stopped talking, Jed started talking, shakily at first, but more sure of himself as he continued speaking. He told Ethan how he felt the same way, how he didn’t know what this dinner entailed, and how he was beyond ecstatic that Ethan felt the same way. After this confession, neither boy said anything for a few minutes as both pondered what it meant that they both liked each other. The answer was obvious, of course, but both were too scared to bring it up, but one of them would have to if they ever wanted to take things past just being friends. In fact, the elephant in the room wasn’t brought up until they were about to leave. It was Jed who eventually asked Ethan if he possibly wanted to go on a real date the following week, and both broke out into huge smiles when Ethan agreed to go on a real date. 

Their brief walk after dinner is where things got messy. They were walking through the center of town when Jed noticed Lizzie chained to a tree, accompanied by Josie and a girl that looks freakishly familiar to him. Ethan happened to notice at the same time and asked Jed if he knew what was happening, to which Jed made up some lie that it was a rehearsal for a play the school wanted to put on. Of course right at that moment was when Jed could see Josie siphoning magic from the sword the samurai had had earlier in the day, and he watched as she did some spell on Lizzie. To make matters even better, both Josie and Lizzie appeared to pass out immediately afterwards, leaving them alone with the mystery girl. He wanted to rush over to help but he had to somehow get Ethan to not get involved. So, he turned to Ethan and quickly explained that he really had to go, but he promised to explain everything to him at some point the next day, but his friends needed him right now. Nervously running a hand through his hair he watched as Ethan frowned and appeared to want to ask a question, but he instead just agreed and said Jed could explain everything to him tomorrow. Jed thanked him and rushed over to where the mystery girl—who introduced herself as Hope—was trying to figure out how to get the twins back to the Salvatore School. 

Jed offered to carry Josie back to the school if Hope would be able to carry Lizzie, which is exactly what ended up playing out as they carried the twins back to the school. Coming to the conclusion the Hope must be some form of supernatural, he asked Hope about what type of spell Josie had done, and when she said it was a dark magic spell, Jed went silent, taking a moment to glance down at Josie. He knew that as much as she would hate it, Penelope needed to come back, because the one thing Jed knew about Penelope’s coven was that they were the best at dealing with dark magic and the effects of it. Hope pulled him out of his thoughts when she asked him what Ethan had seen, and at Jed’s confused expression, she explained that she went to Mystic Falls High School with him. He explained how he was pretty certain Ethan had seen everything, but he would make sure to talk to Ethan about it, which Hope was wary about, but Jed assured her he could handle it. Hope just nodded in response, and the two fell into silence as they walked back to the school, only speaking again once they had put the twins back in their room. Hope seemed uncertain about leaving the girls, but Jed assured Hope that he would look after them, which Hope eventually accepted after a lot of convincing.

When Hope was finally gone, he took one last look at the twins before exiting into the hallway where he pulled out his phone and called Penelope. He knew it was the middle of the night in Belgium, but Penelope had made sure to stress to him the importance of calling if it was an emergency, no matter what time of day it was. Penelope picked up on the second ring, much to Jed’s surprise, and after her initial question of what was wrong, Jed started explaining what was happening. He started with Josie breaking Ethan’s arm—which he received an earful for not disclosing sooner—then he went into what happened tonight. Not knowing the exact specifics behind everything, he told Penelope that he only knew Josie performed a dark magic spell on Lizzie that required siphoning a large amount of dark magic out of a sword that the latest entity from Malivore had been carrying, but that Ethan had been with him when they saw this happen. The whole time he was talking, he could hear Penelope moving around her room based on the sound of drawers being opened and slammed shut, meaning Penelope was packing. When he finished recounting everything, he asked Penelope if she would come back to help even though he knew full well she was probably already packed and on her way to the airport, which is why he wasn’t surprised when she hastily replied that she would be on her way. The two spoke for a little while longer until Penelope eventually did arrive at the airport. Penelope had shifted the conversation more towards Jed and Ethan, because she wanted to know how he was going to explain everything to Ethan when they met up the following day, and Jed assured her that he had everything under control; he was just going to be honest, and if it backfired then he could always ask Kaleb or MG to compel Ethan. That seemed to satisfactorily answer Penelope’s concerns with the whole thing, but then she was saying good-bye to Ethan while she dealt with purchasing a ticket and everything that came after that, promising to talk to Jed when she finally arrived back in Mystic Falls.

The first thing Jed did when he ended the call with Penelope was to send a text to Ethan asking if they could meet first thing in the morning since it would be the weekend. While he waited for a response, Jed walked back to his room, hoping Ethan wouldn’t freak out and run away after what he had seen. When his phone went off, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Ethan had responded, agreeing to meet up the next day. Changing out of the clothes he had worn to meet Ethan, Jed put on his pajamas and returned to the twin’s dorm, settling down beside the door since he said he would look after them. The last thing he thought of before he fell asleep was that he would be there if the twins needed anything in the night.

The next morning, Jed stirred awake when he felt someone shaking his shoulder and talking to him. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Josie who was asking him why he was sleeping there and if he was okay. Blinking a few times, he eventually answered that he was fine, but asked how she was feeling, which he could see was not good. Josie looked pale and worn out, just like anyone who just performed a lot of dark magic would appear the next day. Josie just shook her head at Jed’s question, letting out a dry laugh as she explained just how much she felt like shit. Jed just nodded as he asked Josie another question about what exactly had happened last night. This led to Josie explaining how the samurai hadn’t actually been the monster, it was simply hunting down a demon, the oni, which had somehow ended up possessing Lizzie, which is why Josie performed the dark magic spell; she had siphoned all the magic out of the sword in order to destroy the demon that had possessed her sister. When Josie finished talking, Jed told Josie about Penelope, and when she started to protest, Jed told her that it was their best move since Penelope’s coven speciality was dealing with dark magic, which Josie couldn’t argue with, so she begrudgingly resigned herself to the fact that Penelope was coming to help. However, Jed didn't miss the small smile that formed on Josie’s face when he told her about Penelope, although he didn’t say anything about it because he had to go to get ready to meet Ethan. Before he left Josie, he told her to text her if she needed him and he would be there for her as soon as he could, but Josie assured him that she would be fine, that is, until Penelope showed up. She guaranteed Jed that she would need him then, because she didn’t think she could be in the same room as her alone. Jed just agreed to be there, even though he knew he would quickly be deemed necessary by Penelope, before he left to go back to his room.

Ethan had agreed to meet Jed in the park, and while Jed had reservations about meeting in a public place where people could overhear what he was going to tell Ethan, he understood why Ethan wanted to meet somewhere public. Looking around the park to see if Ethan was there already, Jed spotted him on a bench, so he walked over. Ethan had spotted him approaching and greeted him, although Jed could tell that Ethan was slightly wary of him. Sitting down beside Ethan, Jed answered Ethan’s greeting with his own greeting, uncertain if he should just start explaining, or wait and see what Ethan specifically asked about. He didn’t have to debate long, because Ethan was quickly asking him what exactly had happened last night because there was no way that it was for a school play. That was the moment when Jed knew that he was going to have to tell Ethan what he could about the supernatural world, which he started to say. Jed started out by agreeing that it wasn’t some scene for a school play, it was magic as the result of the latest monster plaguing the town of Mystic Falls. This got a confused look out of Ethan, but before he could say anything, Jed was continuing on saying how what happened last night was Josie performing some dark magic spell on her sister, because it was the only way to expel the demon that had possessed her. Jed didn’t stop there as he just went on explaining how there were more than just witches; there were werewolves and vampires too, and that he was a werewolf. It was at this moment that Ethan interjected Jed, asking how Jed expected him to believe all of this stuff because, yeah, there were movies about this kind of stuff, but it wasn’t actually real, just ideas people came up with to make money. Not knowing what else to do, Jed looked around on the ground for a sharp rock, and when he found one, he looked up at Ethan, before dragging it across his hand, cutting his hand as he did so. Ethan of course reacted with surprise and concern, but it turned to confusion when he saw Jed’s hand starting to heal. Throwing the rock aside, Jed started to talk again, explaining to Ethan that while a lot of people don’t really believe in supernatural creatures, they do exist, however, they aren’t really what pop culture makes them out to be. 

Jed was waiting for Ethan to run away in fear or call him a monster, but neither ever happened. Instead, Ethan seemed to be interested in what Jed had to say, which was a new experience for Jed, because people were usually horrified by supernaturals, but Ethan wasn’t like that. While he didn’t one hundred percent believe Jed yet, which he said, he still asked Jed questions, one of them being if vampires were able to go in the sun. Jed buried his annoyance at how everything was always about vampires, and explained to Ethan that while vampires can’t really go out into the sunlight, they are able to get a daylight ring made by a witch that allows for them to be unaffected by the sun. The next question Ethan asked, Jed wasn’t prepared for, but nonetheless, Ethan asked him how he became a werewolf. This was a topic Jed rarely talked about, in fact it was hard for him to even think about it, but he found himself opening up to Ethan, even if it was hard. Swallowing hard, Jed started to explain how there’s a gene that runs in families that causes people to be werewolves, but it has to be activated, and it can only be activated by killing someone, whether it be accidental or on purpose. Jed hesitated at this point as he thought about what to say next and while he hesitated, Ethan reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in reassurance as he told Jed that if he didn’t want to continue, he didn’t have to. Ethan explained further that he wouldn’t have asked had he known what the story would have entailed. Smiling temporarily at Ethan’s thoughtfulness, Jed’s expression quickly changed back to a grave one as he told Ethan that he would continue. So Jed told Ethan about his father and how he would sometimes become violent, how he would hit him, his brother, or his mother. Jed said how he would be okay with it as long as his dad was only hitting him, not anyone else. But one night, his dad got completely wasted and came home in a rage, and immediately went after his little brother, so Jed did what he always did; he stood up for his brother. Except this time, the outcome was different than simply Jed getting the brunt of the abuse. This time he was just overcome with so much rage that he accidentally killed his father. Jed explained that after he had killed his father, his mom sent him away to the Salvatore School, knowing what he had become, and that he was to never contact them again, essentially leaving him without a family. At some point as he retold the events of that night, a few tears had started to roll down Jed’s face, and Ethan reached out with his free hand and wiped them away, all the while telling Jed that everything was going to be alright.

The whole time Jed was telling Ethan about how he became a werewolf, he avoided making eye contact with Ethan—in fear of what emotions would be written across Ethan’s face—but when he finally looked at Ethan, all Jed saw was compassion written across Ethan’s face. Seeing that Ethan wasn’t going anywhere caused Jed to cry even harder, which led to Ethan moving closer and shifting so he could wrap an arm around Jed. As Jed cried, Ethan told him that he didn’t do anything wrong, he was just protecting his brother from harm and there’s nothing wrong with being a good brother. Ethan didn’t stop there. He continued to tell Jed how he was still the amazing person he always was, and how his view of him wasn’t changed; Ethan still found Jed perfectly imperfect. As he was finishing telling Jed all of this, Ethan said that he had to go do something with his mom, but he would love to go out again during the upcoming week, this time on an official date. Even though he had been crying, Jed let out a sigh of relief at Ethan’s statement, because it meant that Ethan wasn’t going to treat him any differently, plus it also meant that Ethan did like him. Gaining some semblance of composure, Jed replied that an official date sounded spectacular and suggested Thursday at the Mystic Grill, which Ethan quickly agreed to before departing to meet up with his mom. Jed watched him go until he received a text from Josie, causing him to head back to the Salvatore School.

For most of his journey back to school, Jed thought about how he had opened up to Ethan who he really didn’t know, but instead of running away, Ethan stuck around and wanted to go on an actual date with him. This was definitely something he was going to have to tell Josie and Penelope, whether he would do so separately or with them in the same room was yet to be determined. As he neared the school, though, his thoughts drifted back to the fact that Josie had texted him, asking if he could come back, because she felt like she had been hit by a bus and then the bus had promptly gone in reverse and run her over again. 

He was walking into the school when he ran into Lizzie who seemed like she was on a mission to go somewhere. She didn’t really say much except to tell Jed that Josie was in their room before continuing along her journey to wherever she was going. Shrugging it off as Lizzie just being Lizzie, Jed continued walking to the twin’s room, knocking on the door once he arrived. He heard a faint voice telling him to come in, and when he did, he saw that Josie was in her bed curled up in a ball as she stared at the wall. When he shut the door, he saw Josie turn her head to see who was there, to which Jed announced that it was just him, there to provide the best care he could. That comment got a quiet laugh out of Josie who told him that she really didn’t need anything at the moment; she just didn’t want to be alone, which Jed understood. So they made small talk about school until Josie drifted off to sleep. Jed stayed in the chair beside her bed in case she woke up and needed something. The whole time he sat there, he texted Ethan on and off about their date on Thursday and just general conversation questions. About two and a half hours into sitting in Josie’s room, Jed received a text from Penelope saying that she was currently on her way to the school and would be there in about ten minutes. Jed sent a text back saying he would meet her at the entrance of the school, then turned his attention to writing a note saying he stepped out for a few minutes in case Josie happened to wake up while he was gone. Then he was off to the entrance to meet up with Penelope. 

He only waited about five minutes before he saw Penelope walking towards the school, presuming whatever service she used to get to the school dropped her off at the gates of the school. The first thing he noticed was that Penelope still had her hair the length she had had it when Josie burned it off. He internally chuckled at the memory of trying to help Penelope fix her hair after Josie had torched it. His moment of recollection quickly passed as Penelope called out a greeting to him then proceeded to ask where Josie was. When he said that Josie was in her room, Penelope took off towards her room, leaving Jed to follow after her. He caught up to her when she was going into Josie’s room, and when they went in, Josie was still sound asleep. Rather than wake her up, Penelope turned her attention to Jed and quietly asked him if he had happened to meet up with Ethan yet, and if so, how had it gone. As he started to recount the morning’s events, both he and Penelope settled into the chairs that were in the room. Jed told Penelope how he explained everything to Ethan, how Ethan was skeptical at first but came to believe him, and then how—by some miraculous act—Ethan had asked him out on an actual date. Just as Penelope went to respond to Jed, Josie’s voice pierced the air as she asked Jed if he had told Ethan about what had happened to his arm, which Jed answered truthfully; he had not told Ethan about how his arm had been broken, because he wouldn’t betray a friend like that. That earned a quiet word of thanks from Josie, and then it was Penelope greeting Josie in only a way that Penelope could. Jed could see how Josie tensed at first when she heard Penelope’s name, but then instantly relaxed as Penelope continued talking. Seeing this as a sign to leave, Jed said he would give them some time alone to catch up, and then left the room.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that Penelope came looking for Jed, asking if she could stay in his room, because since she was here without warning—and Josie had informed her about the fact that Vardemus was shady—she didn’t have a place to stay. She recognized that she was going to have to eventually announce she was back, but her first goal was to help Josie in any way she could, but ultimately, it was up to what Josie wanted. Jed agreed, proceeding to start to clear a spot on his floor where he would sleep so that Penelope could have his bed. Building off of what she had already said, Penelope informed Jed that her and Josie really hadn’t discussed much of the current matter at hand; they had mostly been catching up since the last time that had spoken was the night Penelope had left, meaning Josie asked her how Belgium was and Penelope admitted to how she hadn’t really seen much of Belgium due to the fact that she had been researching the Merge the whole time she was there. At this point, Jed interrupted and asked how that was going because Penelope hadn’t said anything about it of late, and she revealed that she was actually in the midst of exploring a solid lead but she wasn’t getting her hopes up; she had done that too many times and gotten hurt in the process. Penelope didn’t stay in his room long before she went back to Josie’s room, leaving Jed alone in his room.

The next few days went by in a fairly chaotic manner. Penelope had asked Josie to see something in the journal she had given Josie before she left for Belgium, and that led to them figuring out that there was more to Hope than anyone had previously thought. Jed, Penelope, and Josie discussed what this meant, and ultimately realized that everyone deserved to have their memories back if possible, because everyone had felt like something was missing over the past few months. This ultimately ended up with Josie and Penelope deciding to go to New Orleans to talk to the one person they thought could help: Freya Mikaelson. The two left on Wednesday, and Jed would be lying if he didn’t notice how close the two were becoming, the stolen glances between the two, and he may or may not have walked in on them making out. He didn’t question it, only said that he was glad they seemed to finally be communicating with one another. Both girls just gave him a death glare when he said that, but wished him luck on his date the following day. Jed was sad to see them go, but he knew they were doing what was best for everyone in the end.

The following day as Jed was getting ready for his date, he was even more nervous than the previous time he had met up with Ethan. He did receive a text from Penelope telling him he was going to crush the date if he just acted like himself, which temporarily eased his nerves, but as he was walking to where they agreed to meet, his nerves went through the roof. The butterflies he was feeling in his stomach only got worse when he saw Ethan approaching. They waved at each other when they made eye contact and Jed starting walking towards Ethan so that Ethan didn’t have to walk as far. Jed was halfway to Ethan when he was hit with a wave of memories that all seemed to center around Hope. His only thought was that Josie and Penelope must have restored everyone’s memories before passing out. 

When Jed finally stirred about a minute later, he had no idea he had been out, but his head was filled with random memories of encounters that involved Hope Mikaelson; the girl who had only revealed her name when Jed met her the other night for what he thought was the first time, but it was far from the first time. As he tried to cycle through all of these thoughts, he was also looking around trying to take in what was happening and discovered that somehow he was in Ethan’s arms, which meant Ethan had somehow caught him. He could see that concern was written all over Ethan’s face and it showed when he asked Jed if he was okay. Blinking a few times in an attempt to calm his thoughts and the butterflies in his stomach, Jed eventually replied that he was perfectly alright, but that something had happened; something that would more than likely benefit everyone who had ever interacted with a certain person. Ethan looked at him curiously, inquiring who the person was, and Jed was more than willing to reveal that it was Hope, who had sacrificed herself into a giant mud pit that wiped her from everyone’s memory until two of his friends went on a mission to try and restore everyone’s memories. Jed wasn’t sure how Ethan would take all that information, but he seemed to take it in stride, at least he pretended like he had a complete grasp on the situation, but Jed could see that he genuinely tried to understand and that he did care. As they spoke about what had happened, both boys had stood up, and they both missed the physical contact when they separated, so Ethan cautiously reached out and took Jed’s hand, then looked at Jed to see if it was okay with him. Jed just responded by squeezing his hand back, and the two continued on to where they planned to eat dinner, talking about what had just happened in more depth. As they walked, Ethan asked Jed a lot of questions about everything, and Jed answered them the best he could; he explained how Hope was probably the most powerful supernatural to exist, how this mud pit named Malivore was plaguing the school, how Hope tried to destroy it by throwing herself into it, how everyone forgot her, and finally how two witches named Josie and Penelope just restored everyone’s memory. Ethan took all of this information in as he walked into the restaurant with Jed.

Their date went by really well, but both could tell that the other was nervous. There were a few times where their conversation stalled as they just looked at each other, but neither one felt like it was a bad thing; it gave them an excuse to look at one another to take in the fact that they were on an actual date. When they did talk, they talked about school, what they had been up to since their last meet-up, and how they were both really happy to be on this date. Ethan talked about his arm when Jed asked, talking about how he was almost thankful that it was broken, because it gave him a chance to see that there was more to life than football, even if it meant possibly losing a scholarship. Jed made a mental note to say something about that to Josie, because he knew she was feeling awful about breaking his arm still, so that knowledge might make her feel better. They spent over an hour in the restaurant just eating and talking, but it wasn’t until they had paid the check and were getting ready to leave when Ethan had the courage to ask what was on his mind the whole night. Ethan started out by telling Jed that he really liked him and liked him more and more the more he got to know him, which led to him asking Jed if he wanted to be his boyfriend. There was a moment of stunned silence on Jed’s end before he finally managed to process what Ethan had asked him, and then he was eagerly saying yes to the question. Both Ethan and Jed left the restaurant that night holding hands, with huge smiles plastered across their faces.

And that is much of how the next few months went by, Jed and Ethan became a couple that no one had seen coming, but one that everyone loved. Jed became a part of the Machado family and got closer to Maya over time and the two became close friends. Jed even did his part to help her ask Hope out on a date because it was clear she liked Hope, and it appeared Hope liked her back because her and Maya started officially dating not long after their first date. A few times Jed and Ethan went on a double date with Hope and Maya, but they also went out on a double date with Penelope and Josie a few times. This was after Josie admitted to Ethan what she had done because she couldn’t live with the fact that she had intentionally harmed him. Surprisingly, Ethan wasn’t that angry, he just accepted it for what it was and and accepted Josie’s apology because everyone makes mistakes sometimes; some mistakes more costly than others. Jed knew Josie hadn’t been expecting that response, but he had come to learn just how forgiving of a person Ethan was. So Josie struck up a friendship, and both Penelope and Jed could see that the friendship was good for Josie as she continued to struggle to not turn to the darkness that was lurking just beneath the surface at all times. Penelope had ended up transferring back to the Salvatore School after dealing with an earful from her parents for leaving the school in Belgium without clearing it with them, but deep down they weren’t really mad since Penelope did it for the person she loved. As their relationship progressed, Jed also told Ethan more and more about the supernatural world as events occurred, and even gave Ethan some books that detailed everything he would need to know about witches, vampires, and werewolves. The books were mostly in case Jed forgot to say something that was important so that Ethan would know everything he needed to know. As Jed and Ethan got closer and closer, Jed realized that he was going to have to talk to Ethan about the one thing he didn’t want in a relationship in case Ethan wouldn’t be okay with it. Of course they hadn’t even kissed yet, but Jed wanted to get this fact out in the open because Jed didn’t know how it would impact their relationship, but when he told Ethan, Ethan took it all in stride, saying that he didn’t feel any differently because he liked Jed for who he was and that meant every part of him. It didn’t matter that Jed was asexual to Ethan, all that mattered was that he liked Jed for who he was, so he didn’t see any potential issues with what Jed had said. Jed knew at that moment that he was falling hopelessly in love with Ethan, but he wasn’t ready to voice it just yet, no matter how much he really wanted to. So Jed and Ethan continued on with their relationship, seeing each other any chance they got, but their relationship never went further than hand holding and cuddling. They were both taking their time with everything, not wanting to rush anything, but that all changed when Christmas rolled around.

Jed had been invited to the Machado household for Christmas since he didn’t have any family to go home to. It was the first time in years that Jed had been somewhere other than the Salvatore School for a holiday, and it meant the world to him, because it meant that Ethan’s mom must like him, especially considering he hadn’t been invited to Thanksgiving because she hadn’t had a chance to meet Jed yet. So being invited meant the world to Jed and he told Ethan that, which earned a big smile from his boyfriend. Jed had managed to find time to go and find the perfect gifts for Ethan and Maya, and he had also found something small for their mom. When he had arrived at the Machado residence, he was greeted by Maya, who gave him a hug before letting him into the house. Walking into the house, Jed took off his shoes and set the presents he had brought down, before Ethan was giving him a hug as well. Then it was time to greet Ethan’s mom, who just said a simple greeting before returning to the kitchen where she was finishing her cooking. She had managed to take the day off, because Christmas was a difficult day for the Machado family, it was the day that Ethan’s father had died, so it was a day of remembrance for them as well as a day of celebration. This was another reason for Jed to feel even more honored to be there, because he felt like they didn’t usually invite many people into their home on Christmas. 

The first thing they did was eat dinner, which was one of the best meals Jed had ever eaten. Ethan made a comment under his breath about how Jed was just sucking up to his mom, but Ethan’s mom appreciated the comment, joking how she wished her kids appreciated her cooking like he did. Then after they had cleaned up from eating, Jed handed out the presents he had for everyone, and they gave him the presents they had for him. Maya and her mom opened their gifts from Jed first and both loved what Jed had gotten them. Jed had gotten Maya a shirt she had really wanted, and then she had gotten her mom a book he remembered she had mentioned sounded really good that she wanted to read if she had the chance. Then it was Ethan’s turn to open his gift from Jed, and Ethan just smiled when he saw what his gift was. Jed had gotten his boyfriend a set of promise bracelets, because they had talked about how much promises meant to each other on one of their dates. The hard part of the gift was that Ethan had to decide which bracelet he wanted, as the other one would be the one Jed would wear. Ethan ultimately decided to have the white bracelet and gave the other one to Jed to wear. Then it was Jed’s turn to open his gifts from the Machados. Their mom had gotten him a Rockies jersey because Jed had talked about how that was his favorite team, and then Maya had gotten him a Rockies hat to go with the jersey her mom had gotten him. Jed thanked both of them for the presents, excited to wear both items, and then it was time to open what his boyfriend had opted to get him. Once he tore the paper off, Jed saw that it was a picture frame that you could put multiple pictures into, and it was filled with pictures of the two of them together; a few pictures had other people in them, but most were just of Jed and Ethan. Jed was in awe of how much thought that had to have gone into this gift and he showed this by going and wrapping Ethan in a hug, telling his boyfriend how much he loved the gift. It had been one of the most thoughtful things someone had ever gotten him, and it was definitely his favorite gift, not that he would ever tell Penelope or Josie that since they were the two other people to get him extremely thoughtful gifts over time. 

After they opened gifts, all four of them settled around the coffee table in the living room to play a board game, which ended up being Monopoly. They played for over three hours before Jed ultimately had to go so that he wouldn’t get in trouble for getting back after curfew. So they had to declare a winner of the game without actually finishing, and it ended up being Maya who won, and she made it known that she wouldn’t let anyone live it down that she won the annual Monopoly game. Jed just chuckled as he walked towards the door with Ethan right behind him.

Once he was at the front door, Jed stopped to put his shoes back on, and had opened the front door when he turned to finally say goodbye to Ethan. The first thing he noticed when he turned around was the mischievous look in Ethan’s eyes, then he saw how Ethan glanced up, causing Jed to look up as well. When he looked up, he noticed that there was mistletoe hanging above the doorway that had most definitely not been there early, which meant that Ethan had had this idea planned out. Jed just rolled his eyes and smiled at Ethan when he saw the mistletoe, making a comment about how a first kiss under the mistletoe was extremely cheesy, but fortunately for Ethan, he really loved cheese. Ethan chuckled at the comment and asked if Jed was cool with having their first kiss like this, and rather than saying anything, Jed just took a step forward and kissed Ethan. Jed could tell that he caught Ethan off guard, but Ethan was soon kissing him back, both of them happy that they had waited to have their first kiss in such a holiday romantic movie trope. Their kiss was cut short, however, by Ethan’s mom clearing her throat loudly as she walked by, and the two pulled apart, both blushing a deep shade of red. Then, Jed did something brave that he would later credit to the fact that it was the adrenaline from the whole situation, but he took Ethan’s hands in his own and told Ethan that he loved him. Jed didn’t know if he had said these words too soon, and was internally freaking out because Ethan wasn’t saying anything, but then Ethan just smiled at him and said that he loved him too.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried a new writing style with this where there was no dialogue, so let me know what you think. I don't want to keep pursuing it if people don't really like it, so feedback is greatly appreciated! Find me on Twitter @posieclown  
> For those who read my other works, I'll work on updating them over the next few weeks


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